If Wesley Snipes were an investor in BrewDog, he’d probably give anyone considering the Scottish craft beer maker’s latest stunt a word of advice: always bet on black.
BrewDog co-founder James Watt announced “BrewDog’s Big Bet” on Wednesday — a double-or-nothing bet of Equity for Punks USA investors’ money at a roulette table once its crowdfunding campaign concludes in February 2017. The event will be streamed live through BrewDog’s Facebook site.
“One spin, with potentially millions of dollars on the line,” Watt said in a press release. “We win together, we lose together. This is investment for the mavericks and non-conformists, for whom impatience is a virtue. Bigger, faster, bolder. Double the risk, double the upside.”
It’s the latest move to attract investors and follows Monday’s announcement that BrewDog would open a brewpub in any American city where at least 500 people invest in the company’s Equity for Punks USA crowdfunding campaign.
Here’s how BrewDog’s Big Bet works: Investors who opt into the campaign before December 29 sign a waiver at BrewDogsBigBet.com, choose a “gamble share” and pick either red or black. The color with the most votes will be the one that Watt and co-founder Martin Dickie place a bet on in February.
Should lady luck not be on BrewDog’s side, investors taking the gamble will lose their equity stake in the company — but they’ll keep the perks they earned at their donor level, such as discounts on beer.
“In just a few seconds we could blow the craft beer revolution into the stratosphere and change things forever,” Watt said in the release. “Whatever happens, it’s going to be a hell of a crazy ride.”
The scheme sounds crazy enough, but is it legal? BrewDog appears to have covered its bases with 30 separate bullet points of contractual obligations.
And to help promote the bet, BrewDog has brewed a special-edition beer, Casino Rye-Ale, and a share of the profits from the beer will be added to the betting total.
In August, BrewDog announced the launch of the $50 million campaign to help pay for its 110,000 sq. ft. facility in Columbus, Ohio, now slated to open in 2017 and a separate brewpub which is set to open in 2018. After raising $1 million during the first three days, BrewDog has has secured just $3 million of its $50 million goal, according to the press release.
With a minimum investment of $95, investors in Equity For Punks USA receive equity in the company, an ownership stake in the Columbus brewery and a piece of the U.S. distribution of the company’s beer.
BrewDog’s Big Bet from BrewDog on Vimeo.